Review and Swatches : Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder in the Shade TL09

Kryolan offers some seriously awesome makeup products but what’s even more amazing is that in the two years since I’ve been buying from this brand, makeup prices of other brands have shot up, however, Kryolan makeup prices have remained the same! I recently went into a Kryolan store to purchase some items and I found that the Dermacolor Cream, Lipstick & Translucent Loose Powder which I had purchased in 2013, are still sold at the same price :)

Today I will be reviewing the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder in the shade TL09

Price: Rs. 400 / $6.2

Qty: 20gm / 0.7 oz

Shelf Life: 24 Months

It is also available in a 60gm variant for Rs. 900. I wouldn’t recommend you to buy the larger one unless you’re a Pro MUA as 20g itself is a lot of product!

Shades: The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is available in a lot of shades despite being translucent. Once you go to a Kryolan store, ask the MUAs there to help you out with a shade. The also have some brightening shades – pink & yellow. I have the shade TL09 which has beige-yellow undertones.

Availability: Kryolan Stores

The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is my goto product during the hot summers. It is weightless on the skin and has no coverage since it is a translucent powder. Its finely milled and doesn’t cause creasing when I apply it to my eye contour (the only place I have fine lines). After application, the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder makes my face matte & does control shine for a couple of hours. I like how it never makes my face look powdery or cakey, due to its fine texture. I feel that it does help control sweat a tiny bit. During cooler months, I prefer to use it just to set the concealer under my eyes. I find that my concealers stay put for longer if I use this Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder to set them.  As for extending the stay of my makeup overall, it does help improve the weartime of my base makeup. As blush, contour, highlighter are all applied over it, it does not help in improving their wear time. It prevents my base makeup from wearing down due to oils & sweat that the body produces. One point that I’d like to make is if you’re in the sun for a long period of time and/or you are sweating profusely, only a good primer can prevent your makeup from breaking down. The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is a must have for me on those days when Mumbai gets too humid.

Skin type: Currently my skin is normal. During summers it varied from normal-combination to normal-dry. Last year I had combination-oily skin and even then this powder was effective on me i.e it controlled shine for hours.

Since it is a loose powder, I take special care when I travel with it. Yes I travel with it! The packaging of the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is such that you have a plastic powder jar/dabba and its covered with a perforated lid which has a sticker over it. This jar is closed with a plastic lid. I had removed only a part of that sticker when I first started using this powder, now over an year later I have removed little over a 1/4^th of that sticker. This does make it a bit tedious to get the powder out (just a little bit) but its totally worth it because I get to travel with the Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder without worrying about wastage. I live (and hence travel) back & forth between two cities (Mumbai & Pune). The packaging definitely screams cheap and feels flimsy. However I have been using this product since 2 years and only now its lid has got a slight crack which I’m guessing is due to travelling with it. This might cause a problem to Pro MUAs as they need to travel to sets with makeup products all the time.

the shade TL09. It looks white coz its layered heavily. 

You will never get this kind of coverage on your face unless you use your fingers to apply the powder!


Overall Verdict: 5/5

The Kryolan Translucent Loose Powder is a lovely weightless, coverage-free setting powder that ensures longevity of my base makeup, controls shine and also my sweat a little bit (which is more than what I can say for any previous setting powders). I love how its so affordable and I would recommend anyone to purchase it, except if you have dry skin and don’t use a powder. I did recently go to repurchase this product in the yellow shade (as cooler months are ahead and I will be using it just for setting my under eyes) however it was OOS. I will definitely be purchasing more of this loose powder! My sister has dry skin but she likes using this powder to control her sweat (Mumbai humidity I tell you :/). On the downside, it does not have SPF and that is also important for summers. I use a sunscreen spray over my face after my makeup, however that adds to the overall price of the product.

Review : Inglot Freedom System Bright Matte Eye Shadows 362M,372M,382M + Eye Shadow Base 01

I think what we all love about summer is the freedom to trot around wearing the fiercest and boldest colors without standing out. As monsoon slowly descends in India, I got tempted to pay a tribute to summer by doing a post on 3 lovely, bright & completely droolworthy summer eye shadows.

Inglot #362M is a bright bubblegum pink with a matte finish. Though pink eye shadows make our eyes look sick, this one is actually quite wearable. I actually purchased it because I wanted to use it along with NYX Kiwi eye shadow to recreate a look from MAC meets Barbie collection & it’s the perfect shade. It can be used as blush too I suppose, but the small pan size is a bit inconvenient to me. I love using it along with #382 (mentioned below) and The Body Shop Color Crush Eye Shadow in Be My Clementine.  Together they make a gorgeous sunset look.

Inglot #372M is a gorgeous matte turquoise color. Its a beautiful combination of aqua and green. I love using this as a pop of color on the lower lash line, sometimes I use it over the Maybelline Colossal Turquoise Kohl to make it even brighter. This can also be used wet to make it more vibrant.

Inglot #382M is a vibrant deep red color, it is completely matte. It’s a great color to use in the outer corners whenever you use peachy, pink, orangey or bronzey colors on your lid. It may seem like an odd shade to have but its actually pretty versatile & goes well with many warm colors. I tried using this wet but as you can see from the pan, it didn’t work out :( So do not dip a wet brush into this shadow)

Price: Rs. 400 / $6.2 each

Qty: 2.7 g / 0.09 oz (1.3g variant is shown here)

Availability: Major Brands | Nykaa 

All 362M, 372M shadows have the smoothest matte texture and blend effortlessly. 382M is a bit chalky and requires a dense fluffy brush to blend well. I have used them with drugstore brushes as well as expensive ones and they have performed well with either kind of brush. As you can see from the swatches, they are insanely pigmented. However I faced a problem when I used them on my lids, which I will elaborate below.

Inglot Eye Shadow Base 01:

A primer helps to create a smooth, oil free canvas for eye shadow application whereas a base is used to intensify the color of the eye shadow. If you use a base only, your eye shadow might crease, but a primer ensures that they won't.

Ingredients: 

Price: Rs. 500 / $7.8

Qty: 5.5g / 0.19 oz

Shelf Life 9 months (!!)

Availability: Major Brands | Nykaa

Frankly, the Inglot Eye Shadow Base failed to impress me when I used it initially: it did not make my eye shadows appear more pigmented nor did it help in increasing their wear time. I have pigmented eye lids & despite being bright in swatches and on the pan, the colors 362,372,382 don’t translate the same way on my dark lids. After trying these bright Inglot shadows over NYX HD Base & even over a white shadow pencil I was still not impressed because they were not appearing as vibrant as they are in the pan.

Then one day I tried the eye shadows over this Inglot Eye Base (that was lying forgotten in my makeup drawer) and I was suuper impressed. The eyeshadows looked so bright on my lids, exactly as the look in the pan. If you have pigmented lids like me and your eye shadow base is not helping you out, do try this out. I don’t recommend it for all shadows, not even for all Inglot shadows (as the neutral Inglot eyeshadows work well over any base/primer)…but it’s a perfect partner for the bright Inglot eye shadows that I have.

Shade 01 is a flesh colored base, 02 is a darker one. Inglot Eye Shadow Base is a creamy product. It does not have the same texture as a cream eyeshadow (for ex, Maybelline Eye Shadow Tattoos), its more like a mousse-cum-cream texture wise.  I use a stiff brush to pick out the amount needed, then I apply it in dots over my lid and under my lids and blend with my ring finger. Since it is so creamy, you need just the tiniest amount otherwise your eye shadows may end up creasing (unless you use a primer underneath this base). When I swatch this base on my arm and apply shadows over it, they don’t look different at all, infact that step is actually unnecessary as the colors are vibrant in the swatches.

Overall Verdict: 

#362M -4/5

#372M - 4/5

#382M -4/5

Eye Makeup Base - 3/5 

(1 mark deducted from all for being hard to get!) 

The Inglot Freedom System Eye Shadows are really good quality & frankly, they are worth the $6 price. However due to the currency exchange rate being high (value of Rupee is less) they are somewhat pricey in India (Rs.400). I feel that they are worth the investment, because they are really good quality and still cheaper than MUG/MAC. I like to store mine in the Freedom System Z Palette, but they can be stored inside any magnetic palette.

The Inglot Eye Makeup base is quite tricky to use & doesn't work with other eye shadows that I have, however it is really inexpensive compared to similar products in the market so I would recommend you to buy it if you feel that your Inglot shadows are not as vibrant as you would like them to be.

Inglot products are FREE from parabens and are NOT tested on animals.

I wanted to click EOTDs guys, but its so cloudy outside. Its been that way this whole week in Pune :/ I’m sorry :’(

Almost Perfection : Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation Golden Medium (03) and Almond Honey (06) Review

I already know this is going to be a long post so I’ll get straight to the point!

What Lakme Claims:

An ultra-light, water-based, oil free foundation with Vitamin B3 & SPF 25 guards the skin against harmful rays leaving it visibly fairer, polished & vibrant with 16 hours of complete skin coverage.

-Vitamin B3 -SPF 25 -Oil free -Ultra-light

-Water based

In terms of texture & longevity, the Lakme Absolute White Intense foundation has everything that I want. I found myself repurchasing it (I had previously purchased a wrong shade) because I simply fell in love with it! Here are a few things I love about the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation:

1) Lightweight texture, feels like second-skin.

2) Highly pigmented and gives full coverage. I need a tiny amount. It can cover dark circles as well, over a corrector

3) Works well with other products (i.e BB creams, moisturisers) and its performance is not affected by the dilution.

4) Natural looking matte finish. You can tweak the finish by mixing with other products.

5) Does not look heavy or cakey inspite of being buildable to full coverage.

6) It does not oxidize on me and I have worn it for very long hours

7) Wears for a long time. I have worn it for 10 – 12 hours and my skin still looked fresh!

8) The packaging is very chic

9) I think it is waterproof. You need a proper makeup remover to get this one off!

10) It contains SPF25, while this alone is not sufficient for sun protection, its nice that SPF is present, in case you forget to put one on in a hurry

11) Oil FREE & water based, that's why its so lightweight on the skin.

However, it has a few drawbacks.

Since the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation is long wearing, it has a formula that dries up really fast once I start applying it and most of the times I find myself using a makeup spray on my brush prior to applying this foundation so that I can blend it well. This means thatmay dry up in the container too. No ingredients list is mentioned and you cannot see how much you have used! It is pricey for the quantity. If I sweat A LOT (I’m talking about dancing for 2-3 hours) it does not hold. It has a citrusy scent which I dislike. Also, initially when I apply it to my face it looks much lighter, it takes a while to settle down to match my skin tone, similar to the way a sunblock behaves.

It takes efforts to blend this foundation unless you use a mixing medium, but once its set, its set. I do powder my face after applying this and it wears well under all kinds of powders – loose, mattifying or simple face powders.

Application tips:

I have applied the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation with fingers, makeup sponge & brush and the method I like the best is: I spray my makeup spray on to the brush, dot the foundation on one section of my face, blend it in with the brush. I repeat this procedure for other sections. My face & neck can be divided into 3 sections – 2 halves & 1 neck. I’m partial to using a makeup brush because it gives the maximum coverage and is the fastest. Makeup sponges take a bit more time and coverage is sheerer whereas fingers feel tedious with a foundation that dries quickly. The warmth from my fingers doesn’t aid in blending out the foundation, probably coz my body temperature is cool. However, I do use my fingers to dab the product underneath my eyes.

You do not need a fixing spray as a mixing medium. You can also use your moisturizer or BB cream. I have used it with both and it works beautifully. I would like to add that if you wish the foundation to last long, do not dilute it with too much of moisturizer/BB cream, keep the ratio 2:1 or 50:50.

Shade range:

There are only six shades in the  Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation and the darkest one, i.e Almond Honey (06) is a perfect match for me. It has warm undertones. Initially I had purchased Golden Medium (03) and that was too light. For reference, I am NC42 in MAC. Unfortunately the shade range is very limited, which is a shame!

Suitable skin types: 

I think normal to oily skinned beauties will enjoy this foundation. It may be too dry & matte for dry skinned ladies but it can be mixed 50:50 with your moisturizer to apply.

Price vs Product :

Price: Rs.700 / $11

Qty: 15ml /0.5 oz

Shades : Ivory Fair, Rose Fair, Golden Medium, Golden Light, Beige Honey, Almond Honey

Availability : Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart

The price is steep, however the Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation can be bought at discounts online. Currently it is on discount at Nykaa, Amazon, Flipkart & eBay . I got myself shade matched at the store & then purchased it online it during discounts.

Overall Verdict : 4.7 /5

The Lakme Absolute White Intense Foundation definitely takes work for blending in, luckily with the right tools you can take full advantage and enjoy its texture and wearability. It gives a beautiful full coverage natural finish and wears for a really long time. I definitely recommend this foundation, do try it out! I wouldn’t purchase just any foundation twice ;)

Primed for perfection : Colorbar Perfect Match Primer Review, Price, Ingredients and other bits

I generally go for long wearing makeup but in India, you need to go the extra mile sometimes. The weather is pretty much unpredictable and don’t even get me started on the humidity some places have!  Therefore I decided to invest in a primer, initially I got it with the intention of using only during functions & festivals, but slowly it has crept into my daily makeup routine. I’m talking about the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer. This is my first face primer :)

Company Claims & Ingredients:

This satiny touch oil free primer masks the fine lines and uneven texture, making skin marvelously soft and smooth. Dab on a little all over face for smoothening surface or use before concealer and foundation for perfect complexion and lasting effect

My experience with the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer :

Packaging : The Colorbar Perfect Match Primer comes in a plastic squeeze tube having shiny cap, I think its kind of fancy and very chic! The packaging is actually perfect because it gives you control to dispense the amount of product you need.

Texture: The Colorbar primer is clear. The texture is very, very silicone-y. It is indeed silky like the claims and glides on effortlessly onto every nook & corner of my face. You have to make sure you don’t put too much of this, else you’ll end up feeling greasy and oily on your face, akin to applying too much serum on your hair.

Effects:  The Colorbar Primer easily makes my face smooth and gives it an even texture. However, it is very drying. I always make sure I moisturize my skin well if I'm applying the Colorbar Primer otherwise my skin gets dry once I've applied the it and the makeup application isn't easy then! I do not know if this happens with all primers as the Colorbar one is my first.

When I have any pimples or bumps I apply the Colorbar Primer over them and they smooth out and don’t stand out as bumps. This makes it so much easier to conceal pimples! I also love putting this primer on my eye contour, this ensures that my concealer doesn’t settle into those fine lines we all have under eyes and also makes my concealer last all day. It also makes it easier to layer products; I use a cream corrector and a cream concealer on my eye contour. They start creasing soon if I don’t apply a primer underneath.

Does My Makeup Last All Day?
On the whole, the Colorbar Primer doesn’t really prolong the wear time of all of my makeup, however, it does make my face look fresh at the end of the day too! I’ve noticed that when I’ve been out for a long time, spent a considerable amount of time in the sun and pollution, my face still looks fresh if I’ve worn the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer underneath my makeup. I’ve even worn it through an intense and sweaty dance festival (hello Dandiya!) and even after the insane amount of dance I did, my face looked fresh, despite being sweaty. However, my makeup pretty much wore off. Another thing I noted is that it doesn’t hold as well in the humid weather of Mumbai.

An important aspect in makeup products that we’re always on the lookout for is that they should not break us out. Fortunately, the Colorbar Perfect Match Primer has not broken me out whenever I’ve worn it. It also doesn’t aggravate my pimples when I apply it over them. I use it almost daily in my eye contour and it has not affected the area at all. If you are allergic to some silicone products, please check the ingredients list & verify with your dermatologist if its ok for you to use this product as it contains a lot of silicones.

Product vs Price:

Price: Rs. 825 / $13 (Available for cheaper online)

Qty: 30ml / 1 oz.

Availability: Jabong | Amazon | Nykaa | Flipkart 

Overall Verdict: 4/5

The Colorbar Perfect Match Primer is a great primer to start out with and its easy on the pocket. It has a hassle free packaging and is easily available in India as well! I like to hydrate my face well before using it as it is drying. It prolongs the weartime of my makeup, especially in the eye contour and keeps my face looking fresh all day. 

Bourjois Levres Contour Lip Liners Enjoleuse (11) and Rouge Soyeux (20) Review, Swatches, Price in India

If you have a ton of lipsticks like me, you’ll realize that there are some colors you love but unfortunately they don’t last long on your lips ! Like… the nudes & MLBBs. I love the Street Wear Ruby Riddle lipstick, it’s a lovely warm peach shade on me but it wears off soon! Lip pencils are a must have for lipstick lovers me who want to make their favorite shades last longer! I usually invest in a lipstick only after making sure its long lasting, but you can’t always be sure when you’re purchasing a newly launched item no ?

Let’s factor in lip glosses as well! I own few (just 5) out of which Maybelline’s Mirrored Mauve (LOVE the shade) has the least staying power and it’s a lovely one to wear daily. So how do we solve this recurring problem of low-weartime with our favorite lip colors ? 
[a] STOP buying them (gasp !!) [b] invest in a good lip liner or a lip primer.

Like any other makeup lover, I choose option (b) and purchased the Bourjois lip liners. I have the shades Enjoleuse (11) and Rouge Soyeux (20) cause lip primers aren’t mainstream in India, ‘ya know. Read on to know more about them ^_^

Company Claims:

High definition and long-wearing lip liner for ultra lip comfort.
Its ultra-soft khol tip draws a smooth and precise lip contour to line the lips and prevents your lipstick from running for hours on end!
Enriched with mineral and plant pigments (rose and green tea) it is good for your skin. The formula is easy to blend, comfortable and smoothly glides onto the lips, leaving a soft velvety finish.
Bourjois Levres Contour lip liners are available in 12 Shades: 
Enjoleuse (11), Facetieuse (12), Coquette (13), Rouge Seduction (14), Rose Precieux (15), Extravagante (16), Prun Caresse (17), Framboise Exquise (18), Sienne Kiss (19), Rouge Soyeux (20), Brun Auburn (21), Peche Voluptueuse (22). 

My experience with Bourjois Levres Contour Lip Liners: 

Enjoleuse (11) is french for ‘coaxing’. The shade is a gorgeous light pink color having neutral undertones. I love light pink colors, especially those that suit me. Enjoleuse suits my very warm & yellow skintone. Its almost a nude pink, it will be an everyday pink on fairer skintones. Somehow, it is an everyday pink on my medium skintone (I’m NC42 in MAC Pro Long Wear), however I’ve seen it look like nude on people having same skintone as me! I guess the color will depend varying on your undertone. I’ve seen Enjoleuse being described as a pink-brown but honestly, I can’t see any brown to it! Just look at the swatches and tell me if I’m missing the brown tinge! I like to use this shade under nude & everyday suitable lipsticks (like MLBBs, soft pinks).

 Enjoleuse is very pigmented & covers lip pigmentation, however, it is also very matte. My lips need to be exfoliated or at least moisturized and unchapped prior to its use. If worn alone, it feels very dry & emphasizes dryness on lips unless you moisturize them beforehand. Despite of its matte texture, it applies smoothly. 

Now, for the true test….. Enjoleuse does make my lipsticks last longer, it also prevents them from feathering, however it does not control transfer :/ I’m not sure if lip liners are supposed to do that but if I wear a very creamy lipstick (like the Revlon Colorburst lipsticks) it lasts for a longer time over Enjoleuse but it does transfer everywhere. The lipsticks I wear over Enjoleuse wear off from the center of my bottom lip with water & snacks however the lip liner stays in place. You do need to touch up after meals, especially if you eat oily food. I wore this lip liner alone for my graduation day for about 5-6 hours and I was impressed by its performance, it did not feel uncomfortable because I had moisturised my lips with the Carmex lip balm beforehand. It wore off from a bit from my bottom lip when I had sweets (coz they are oily!).

Rouge Soyeux (20) is french for ‘silky red’, what a great name!

I bought this shade, only because it’s a dupe of MAC Ruby Woo (thanks to Cynthia of Indian Vanity Case for the info!). Ruby Woo lipstick is supposed to be a must-have but I can’t bring myself to splurge on a shade I will rarely wear, so enter Rouge Soyeux (20), a bright pinky-red with a subtle blue undertone. Unlike Enjoleuse, Rouge Soyeux does not apply smoothly, infact it feels dry like a crayon and its tip needs to be sharpened to a fine point so that you can apply the color with ease. It is drying to wear but so is Ruby Woo I hear! 

I haven’t tested this one out much because I rarely wear reds, but if you want a Ruby Woo dupe for cheap, make sure you buy lip liner Rouge Soyeux (20) and NOT Rouge Seduction (14)  {which doesn’t seem like a blue toned red}. Check out Cynthia’s post here. I also think its important to have a lip liner for such bright colors because it makes applying lipstick much easier!

Swatches:

Price Vs Product:
Price: Rs.295 / $4.64 each

Qty: 1.12g /  0.03 oz.

Availability : Koovs | Nykaa | Amazon | Flipkart (on sale here)

Cons: They need to be sharpened! This leads to A LOT of wastage, you’ll need to buy the lip liner every month if you use it regularly. Given the dry texture of the lip liners, I feel that a wooden pencil form is the best because if it was a twist-up style, the lip liner would keep breaking off whenever you tried to apply it. Bourjois products are not sealed & SAs in India just open up the fresh products :/

Overall Verdict: 5/5

Yes they are drying, but that’s what makes them long lasting! For the price, I can’t complain much, I plan to buy at least one more shade and backups of the shades in my collection coz I love the colors! They are available in lots of colors and you’ll surely find something to love in the collection!